By Sara Ventimiglia
Meridian Times staff writer
Okemos High School Senior Emily Cornell thought that this past week’s snowstorm brought more entertainment than fright.
“It was nice to have a couple days off from school just to relax and hang out with friends,” the senior student said.
The snowstorm was predicted to begin last Tuesday evening and bring 10 to 16 inches of snow throughout the following 24 hours. Okemos High School Principal Christine Sermak said that she herself did not hear of the Wednesday closing until 4 p.m. on Tuesday.
“All decisions were made by the superintendent Dr. Catherine Ash,” said Sermak. “She works closely with road commission as well as local district superintendents to ensure the safety of students and staff.”
Emily Cornell said that her two consecutive days off were spent entirely with close friends.
“We watched Wedding Crashers, Talladega Nights, and Step Brothers to name a few,” said Cornell.
But the movies weren’t the thrill of Cornell’s short break. She and friends took on some intense sledding hills.
“We went sledding at a hill in Williamston by the football field one day and the other day we went to Dead Man’s Hill in Holt,” said Cornell.
But for another Okemos High School senior, Peter Harrison, the snowstorm didn’t bring as much fun to his time off. Harrison found out that school was canceled at about 5 p.m. on Tuesday.
“Before the storm had even started, the superintendent’s office sent a notification phone call to my house confirming that school was canceled,” said Harrison.
His days off consisted of sleeping in late and getting ahead on homework while he could.
“My parents wouldn’t let me drive, so I watched a movie at home with my family on Wednesday night as well,” said Harrison.
Cornell and Harrison had opposing viewpoints regarding the hype about the storm. Did meteorologists predict this storm to be much worse than it ended up being?
“I personally did not think the storm was as bad as everyone made it out to be,” said Cornell. “I was expecting a lot more snow.”
But according to Harrison, it came as a complete shock and was the greatest amount of snow that he had ever seen in his lifetime.
“Luckily, my brothers and I didn’t have to shovel because my parents called for a plow,” said Harrison. “That would have taken hours to shovel by hand.”